EN
This text presents the development of litanical stylizations in the work of Bohuslav Reynek (1892–1971), from his Žízně (Thirsts, 1921) collection to his posthumously published Odlet vlaštovek (Departure of the Swallows, 1980) collection. The author follows the process involved in the interiorization of litany, which is manifested in ongoing abandonment of the external signs of litanical form (or its conventionalized literary attributes), while the connection with the ideational basis of the genre remains preserved. Despite his initial dependence on French models (e.g. Paul Claudel and Charles Péguy — and a significant role was also played here by Reynek’s translation experience) and particular sources of inspiration at home (Jakub Deml), the poet quite quickly found his independence (evidence of which includes Reynek’s “unlitanic” translations of Georg Trakl). With his stylizations, Reynek continually experimented, adding various forms to his litanies in verse, verset or prose, while an important role was also played by his technique of apposition, which he elaborated when he was writing his collection Smutek Země (Earth’s Grief, 1924). These changes also affected the emotional tone of individual texts (e.g. one prominent trend was his shift from ‘bright’ moods to ‘dark’ ones) or the construction of an object-addressee litany (only the first works of this kind have a strictly prayer-like character). A detailed analysis of these changes enables us to focus on the continuity of the entire process and thus to find a certain ongoing originality in the variety of litanic forms in Reynek’s work.